Teenagers study potential of engineering education

University of Alabama hosts 138 high school students at annual camp

Ken Fridley, department head of civil, construction and environmental engineering, on Wednesday speaks to high school students attending the second session of the Student Introduction to Engineering camp (SITE) at the University of Alabama.

Michelle Lepianka Carter | Tuscaloosa News

By Ed EnochStaff Writer

Published: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 10:04 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | High school student Logan Mills of Camby, Ind., thinks she wants to get a chemical engineering degree, then go to medical school.

But to make sure an engineering degree and the University of Alabama are right for her, the 17-year-old is spending a week on campus as part of Student Introduction to Engineering, an annual summer camp provided by UA's College of Engineering for high school juniors and seniors interested in engineering.

Mills is one of 138 students from across the country attending the program, which has three week-long sessions. This year, the dates are July 7-12, July 14-19 and July 21-26. The camp has been a regular offering since it was established in 1988, according to SITE co-director Gregory Singleton.

So far, Mills said campus has lived up to her expectations.

“I like it,” she said.

The students stay in a residence hall on campus and take classes in math, engineering, computer science and English. They also construct gliders as part of a team design competition, tour the college's departments and tour an industrial plant to see engineers at work, according to an itinerary.

Wednesday, Mills was part of a group of about 25 who toured UA's Large Scale Structures Lab in the Southern Engineering Research Center. The lab allows researchers to study the effects of earthquakes, wind and other extreme conditions on structures.

The students, sporting hard hats and safety glasses, watched a shear-wall test demonstration, during which a model wall was subjected to earthquake forces patterned on the El Centro temblor that struck southern California in 1940.

Professor Ken Fridley, chair of the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering and the lab tour guide Wednesday, said the demonstration is a chance to showcase UA's facilities to potential students but also give them a sense of the types of research in the field.

Singleton, director of UA Engineering Student Services and of the Multicultural Engineering Program, said the tours, courses and team-oriented competition of the camp are all meant to help students like Mills form ideas early about whether engineering is the career path for them.

“The key is to give students an overview of engineering and a sense of what it is to be an engineer,” Singleton said. “Often they have heard about engineering, but they don't know what engineers do.”

<p>TUSCALOOSA | High school student Logan Mills of Camby, Ind., thinks she wants to get a chemical engineering degree, then go to medical school.</p><p>But to make sure an engineering degree and the University of Alabama are right for her, the 17-year-old is spending a week on campus as part of Student Introduction to Engineering, an annual summer camp provided by UA's College of Engineering for high school juniors and seniors interested in engineering. </p><p>Mills is one of 138 students from across the country attending the program, which has three week-long sessions. This year, the dates are July 7-12, July 14-19 and July 21-26. The camp has been a regular offering since it was established in 1988, according to SITE co-director Gregory Singleton. </p><p>So far, Mills said campus has lived up to her expectations.</p><p>“I like it,” she said. </p><p>The students stay in a residence hall on campus and take classes in math, engineering, computer science and English. They also construct gliders as part of a team design competition, tour the college's departments and tour an industrial plant to see engineers at work, according to an itinerary.</p><p>Wednesday, Mills was part of a group of about 25 who toured UA's Large Scale Structures Lab in the Southern Engineering Research Center. The lab allows researchers to study the effects of earthquakes, wind and other extreme conditions on structures. </p><p>The students, sporting hard hats and safety glasses, watched a shear-wall test demonstration, during which a model wall was subjected to earthquake forces patterned on the El Centro temblor that struck southern California in 1940.</p><p>Professor Ken Fridley, chair of the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering and the lab tour guide Wednesday, said the demonstration is a chance to showcase UA's facilities to potential students but also give them a sense of the types of research in the field. </p><p>Singleton, director of UA Engineering Student Services and of the Multicultural Engineering Program, said the tours, courses and team-oriented competition of the camp are all meant to help students like Mills form ideas early about whether engineering is the career path for them.</p><p>“The key is to give students an overview of engineering and a sense of what it is to be an engineer,” Singleton said. “Often they have heard about engineering, but they don't know what engineers do.”</p>